Clerk Steals S$38,000 from Recycling Firm to Donate to 'Chinese Idols' on Douyin

A 20-year-old woman in Singapore was sentenced to four months in jail for pocketing over S$38,000 from a recycling firm. She confessed to donating the money to 'Chinese idols' on the Douyin platform after initially lying about using it to repay her father's debt. Malaysian Chew Yu En pleaded guilty to misappropriation and making false entries on payment vouchers.

Chew worked as a clerk at Sin Le Heng Recycling, where she took the cash from the company's petty cash over 42 occasions. She wrote false payment vouchers to cover up the theft and admitted to the crime when confronted by a director. Chew did not make any restitution and was eventually arrested by the police.

The court heard that Chew lived in Malaysia before working in Singapore and stayed with her boyfriend on a work permit. She was sentenced to jail after the prosecutor sought a four to six-month term, and her plea was taken despite her attempt to adjourn the case.